Feedback system not effective
Am I the only one here on eBay that is constantly “Held Hostage to leave positive feedback” to leave feedback 1st as a buyer? This system is not effective for honest transactions. Buyer pays with PayPal instantly, seller waits for the buyer to leave feedback that is positive, before leaving positive feedback..if any that is! They usually don’t leave buyers feedback after getting theirs. eBay needs to make it so the seller leaves feedback 1st in order to get feedback from the buyer. This is so rigged! Shame on eBay for leaving a loophole like this open causing ill feelings for buyers!
35 comments
campanaelia
·4 months agoAs a buyer only on ebay I couldn't care less if I ever received another feedback.
I think ebay should do what facebook does. On marketplace I can leave the buyer feedback from 1-5 stars and the buyer feedback is not shown to the public, so I guess they only use it internally.
Besides where else besides ebay is buyer feedback even a thing?
gurlcat
·4 months ago@campanaelia Before I sold here, I raised and sold live aquarium fish on a very eBay-like site called Aquabid. Not only can sellers leave feedback for buyers; they can NEG buyers. But it makes sense because we're talking about living creatures, so if a buyer is an idiot who expects a refund because they didn't arrange for someone to take their delivered box off the porch in January, until they got home from work, then other sellers need to be aware. Size-wise the platform is microscopic compared to eBay, and the people who run it don't get involved with a-ny-thing (feedback squabbles, refunds, anything at all), just host the listings, for FREE by the way, but they have a donation fund.
kathiec
·4 months agoFeedback has always been pretty much of a farce on eBay. Back when I first started here it was the Wild West. You could leave feedback for anyone, whether you'd been in a transaction or not. If you wanted to respond to feedback you did it by leaving an additional neutral feedback. That ended, but if you left a deserved neg for a seller it was far too frequent that they would indeed leave a retaliatory negative feedback for you. So eBay took away that ability for sellers, which was absolutely the wrong way to address the issue.
I still remember how excited I was after my first purchase, in December 1996, to discover I'd gotten feedback. I didn't know feedback even existed. That was the last time feedback excited me. I haven't even checked to see if sellers are leaving me feedback in probably 15-20 years. Now if eBay ever monetizes getting positive feedback I might start caring again! 😂
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoBuyers can only be left positive FB.
Many sellers, including myself, who value our time have Ebay leave FB for buyers automatically.
Sellers who think they are doing something to protect themselves by not leaving FB are either fooling themselves or planning to violate Ebay policy if they screw up or are caught cheating.
If you feel FB is being held hostage, you may need to change how you choose sellers or find another venue for what you buy.
worldcoinauctions
·4 months agoI don't generally worry about it. As a seller I like to leave feedback just about the time the item is delivered, so if I see "out for delivery" I leave feedback in hopes it will prompt a response from the buyer. I'd guess about 1/10 of the buyers actually do (not counting the automatic stuff). I leave feedback for 100% of my buyers, but really it doesn't matter that much.
magicjohnsonsvariety
·4 months agoUnfortunately you have it backwards.
As a seller I need to know that YOU are satisfied with your purchase before leaving feedback....YOU....the buyer is the only one who knows for sure if your item arrived safely?...is what you expected?...and you are satisfied with the transaction?....only you can answer those questions....
Because ebay does not allow sellers to later change their feedback...if a seller leaves positive FB prematurely and the buyer later scams me with the "ol rock in the mail" return...my positive will remain on the buyers FB forever...and that i consider dishonest.
The only way this will ever change is if ebay ever allows sellers to later change, or at least remove a prematurely given positive FB that was later proven to be not true...but i doubt that will ever happen...
A positive transaction should be the entire transaction....not just the act of paying....which literally anyone can do including criminals...
kensgiftshop
·4 months agoBuyer feedback doesn't really mean much since they can only receive positive feedback.
If sellers could leave true feedback for buyers, I'm sure more would be leaving some.
house*of*paws
·4 months agoHi @cropcirclesinsand-1
No, you’re NOT the only buyer who feels that they are being ‘held hostage’ to leave positive feedback for a seller. It’s been brought up in the Community since I started reading posts here 22 years ago.
That said, as a buyer only … I haven’t figured out what to do with the feedback I’ve been left … let alone the number I would have received had eBay had a different feedback policy. What do you do with yours?
jameshen1
·4 months agoYou have 647 feedback currently. Is there something that you want to buy but can't unless you have 648? or 650? As a buyer, do you get certain privileges for having more feedback than another buyer?
I just don't understand what good more feedback does a buyer when they can only receive positive anyway.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoYou can only be "held hostage" if you allow it to happen.
There is NO eBay requirement that either party leave feedback.
eBay has now set up the FB system so that, if the buyer leaves no FB for the seller and the transaction appears to have gone well, eBay leaves auto FB. The buyer is able, however, to override that with his own remarks.
There is NO loophole.
Speaking of being "held hostage", isn't that what your suggestion would be: requiring the seller to leave FB first before the buyer leaves it?
mudshark61369
·4 months ago@cropcirclesinsand-1 ,
"Buyer pays with PayPal instantly, seller waits for the buyer to leave feedback that is positive, before leaving positive feedback..if any that is!"
Paying is the minimum requirement for ebay buyers, so do you really think you deserve a pat on the back just because you fulfilled your minimum obligation? Buyers cannot do anything to harm a seller, until they pay!
Isn't a buyer the first to know if a transaction went well or not? So why not leave a feedback for a seller if a transaction was a positive one for you? Maybe you haven't noticed, but recently ebay has started leaving automatic feedback for sellers if a buyer doesn't, as long as they ship on time, "Order delivered on time with no issues" They did that because over the years fewer and fewer buyers are leaving feedback, which can a seriously effect a seller's feedback percentage if they receive any negative ones.
Since leaving feedback is a voluntary option, how are you being held hostage? Especially, since you can only receive a positive feedback as a buyer only, and will always have a 100% rating, that is shared with non-paying and scamming buyers. Buyer's reputations are judged by the feedback they leave for sellers, also by bid retractions and feedback revisions, if any.
As a seller I do leave feedback for each buyer. Either quickly after they have left one for me, or 31 days after an item was delivered, and I don't have to worry about disputes being filed, whether or not I have received one. I'm lucky that I sell collectible items as I get feedback for 80+% of my sales. Many sellers of new and/or popular items are lucky to get feedback for 50% of their sales.
grann-4629
·4 months agoIt has come to the point, for some people here anyway, when feedback is more important than price, item quality, shipping costs and times, etc. The only good thing about the eBay feedback system is it's gives us lots to talk about - if it disappeared, it could spell doom for their forum.
There is only one solution ...
soh.maryl
·4 months agoDon't worry about eBay no longer having FB causing the death of the forum.
We will always have both buyers and sellers who've not read the Money Back Guarantee.
christworks
·4 months ago@cropcirclesinsand-1 I 1000% agree with you --- but only if I, as a seller, can leave you, as a buyer, negative feedback. Would you be okay with that change?
gurlcat
·4 months ago@christworks NOW WE'RE COOKING WITH CRISCO!!!
grann-4629
·4 months agoeBay needs to get rid of their feedback system completely ...
gurlcat
·4 months agoI think you should make this your signature so you don't have to say it every time the subject comes up. 🤣
buyselljack2016
·4 months agoas a buyer......................................... why do you need more feedback?
bonanza125
·4 months agoI will tell you that I require buyers to leave feedback first before I leave feedback the reason is very simple I been extorted by buyers years ago where I left feedback and then I get a message being threaten that negative feedback will be left if I didn't give partial refund. So the buyer should leave feedback as in positive feedback first to let us sellers know that you the buyer are satisfied with the transaction. Majority of buyers either don't leave feedback or don't mind leaving feedback first. In fact I have had only 1 buyer in 25 years get upset about having to leave feedback first. So really majority of buyers don't care and don't share the same feelings you do. My suggestion get over it. Leave positive feedback to your seller. If you have an issue with the item contact the seller to work it out. Don't stress over it.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoKeeping in mind the fact that recently eBay will leave auto FB for sellers if/when the transaction appears to have gone well, and remembering also that a buyer can override that with his own remarks.
bonanza125
·4 months agoI know and the way I look at it is if a buyer wasn't leaving feedback before automated feedback then they won't be leaving feedback now so it helps sellers with percentages. If a buyer has a problem they should contact the seller.
albertabrightalberta
·4 months ago@cropcirclesinsand-1
Since buyers can only receive positive feedback (with positive comments), many sellers don't leave feedback. Thus feedback for buyers is (essentially) useless.
Feedback is more important for sellers since buyers often check it to judge whether it's a seller with whom they want to do business.
One reason why sellers may wait to leave feedback for buyers is because they don't consider a transaction complete until they know they have a happy and satisfied buyer. So when they see that the buyer left a positive feedback, they know the transaction is complete and they have a happy buyer.
And if a buyer leaves a feedback that's less than positive, the seller can contact the buyer to determine if there's a problem to resolve.
lakefor94
·4 months agoForgot to mention, as a seller I give automated feedback to the buyer right when they pay.
lakefor94
·4 months ago@cropcirclesinsand-1
Feedback is an archaic tool that is basically still solid for sellers and buyers to vet each other if you know what to look for.
I get right about 18% feedback from ebay buyers. That is a lot imo. I hardly bother anymore as a buyer. Too busy to jack with it.
Buyers don’t even leave it on AMZ anymore. Been since July 2023 since I have received a feedback on AMZ. Well over ~1500 transactions by now, not 1 feedback.
Feedback is like yesterday's newspaper.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoShouldn't that 18% have risen a bit since eBay now leaves auto positives for sellers?
mudshark61369
·4 months ago@soh.maryl ,
"Shouldn't that 18% have risen a bit since eBay now leaves auto positives for sellers?"
How much automated feedback will affect a seller's percentage will depend on if they are a High or Low volume seller. Since FB percentages are based on FB received in the last 12 months, and auto feedback only started a couple of months ago, it may not have much of an affect on a high volume sellers percentage much so far. It could be a big help for lower volume sellers though.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoI think that the percentage of buyers that leave feedback for you is highly dependent on what you sell. The more commoditized or Amazon-like, the lower the percentage. I’m at roughly 50% over the past month or so. That is pretty close to the rough-numbers long term average.
Unavailable member
·4 months agoFeedback is basically for buyers to give their opinion on a transaction. Sellers don't have to leave feedback, really, no one has to leave feedback.
That being said ebay is not going to "make it" so the seller leaves feedback 1st in order to get feedback from the buyer. They are not about to force anyone to leave feedback.
Why is it such a big deal for you? Are you buying and or selling and getting good deals or making a couple bucks or, are you on ebay specifically to obtain feedback?
cropcirclesinsand-1
OP4 months agoBasically, the feedback system is there to show trust with the amount of feedback earned in fairness to both party’s
gone.c-33
·4 months agoAre you aware that as a buyer, you cannot receive negative feedback?
Feedback for buyers is basically indicative of nothing.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoSince buyers can be given only positive FB, and you refer to the "amount of feedback earned in fairness to both party's, there is not really much fairness or trust involved here since that door swings only one way.
Unavailable member
·4 months agoThe feedback system is a meaningless farce that needs to be purged, period, end of discussion.
magicjohnsonsvariety
·4 months agoI disagree...
As a buyer I use feedback to check on a sellers reputation as everyone should do...
As a seller I always check buyers FB to get an idea what to expect...and in the case of Auction bids...decide if i want them involved in my auction...
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoAbsolutely, feedback is a useful tool. Even if some think that it isn’t, buyers seem to like it - that’s a plus. eBay needs every advantage they can get over places like Amazon.
magicjohnsonsvariety
·4 months agoExactly, with all the scams ebay allows these days...Feedback is truly the only front line protection buyers have against scammers...
I don't at all understand why people are calling for it to be "purged"...🙄